After they crossed paths in their first semester at the University of the Sunshine Coast, it didn’t take long for Emily Carseldine and Jessica Barnes, both now teachers at
Spinifex State College, to get to know each other.
By the time they were in the second year of their teaching degrees, the pair had become best friends.
While Jessica had always known she wanted to be a teacher and started studying straight after high school, the journey was a little more winding for Emily.
'Growing up, I wanted to be a nurse just like my mum because I wanted to help people and make a difference,' Emily said.
'Fast forward several years and I realised that while nursing is an amazing profession, I simply wasn’t cut out for it—so I had to focus on the reason I wanted to be a nurse in the first place and figure out how else I could achieve that.'
The friendship and support between Emily and Jessica helped them manage the pressure of study as they progressed through their degrees.
'It was a relief to have someone who understood and experienced the same challenges,' Emily said.
As it turned out, their teaching journey together was just getting started.
They went to the 2019
Teach Queensland Career Fair together in search of jobs.
'We put together our graduate level portfolios, made sure our resumes were up to date, gave ourselves one hell of a pep talk and jumped right in,' Emily said.
'We went to every stall, we talked to every person we possibly could and networked like our lives depended on it!'
'Honestly, it was one of the best decisions we ever made—I learned so much about the department and the teaching opportunities that were open to us,' Emily said.
Both were open to teaching in a rural or remote location.
'One of the main reasons I was looking at rural and remote teaching opportunities was for the job security,' Jessica said.
'I was also excited for the different experiences that a rural area provides.'
For Emily, who grew up in a small country town, going remote never felt like a huge leap, but the opportunity to start her teaching career in a permanent job was a carrot that was too good to pass up.
And after both Emily and Jessica each received several offers from different schools at the career fair, the decision to choose a rural school together seemed to just fall into place.
'What really astounded me about the offers was how many of them gave us the opportunity to go as a team,' Emily said.
'With that in mind, we naturally decided that wherever we chose, we would go together.'
After a lot of research from Jessica and pros and cons lists from Emily to whittle down their options, they decided to take up positions at Spinifex State College in Mount Isa.
'Spinifex seemed like a good option because of the support system for new teachers in the area,' Jessica said.
'The school along with the department’s local
Centre for Learning and Wellbeing made the experience a lot easier.'
Emily said everything happened quickly once they’d accepted their job offers.
'Within days, colleagues from the school reached out to lend their support alongside staff from the Centre for Learning and Wellbeing,' Emily said.
Spinifex State College and the Centre for Learning and Wellbeing worked together to get Emily and Jessica up to Mount Isa for an induction week before they moved.
'We were invited to attend the beginner’s teacher program which gave us the opportunity to visit the area and the school prior to moving, as well as participate in some professional development sessions,' Jessica said.
'During that week, we met other new teachers to the area, learnt about the demographics of our students and spent some time familiarising ourselves with the school,' Emily said.
'The level of support and the experiences we had were amazing and it gave us the opportunity to fall in love with the place before we made the move,' Emily said.
'The whole experience just cemented that not only had we made the right choice, but it helped us feel like we could make the change because we had support,' Emily said.
Both Emily and Jessica said their time up in Mount Isa so far has been very positive.
'I continue to be blown away by the ongoing support and guidance I have received,' Emily said.
'Professional development opportunities, coaching, opportunities for observations and feedback, and a whole staff of people cheering us on is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the support we have received,' Emily said.
'Plus, there is an endless number of things to do out here,' Emily said.
'Don’t think for a moment that going remote means you’re going to be bored—trust me, you won’t have the time to be bored!'
'Everything is so beautiful and the people are so welcoming that you’ll be gallivanting around from dawn to dusk every day,' Emily said.
'Throughout my journey so far, the thing that surprised me the most was realising when I started to think of here as home and the people as family.'
'I still miss where I came from and the people I have waiting for me, but I have that here as well,' Emily said.
'I have a home away from home.'
And as for taking the adventure together? They can’t recommend it enough.
'It has been great to move with a friend and having an in-built support system has made this change a lot easier,' Jessica said.
'The most challenging part about teaching in a rural area is getting used to the demographic and adjusting the teaching style to cater to the needs of the students but it surprised me how quickly I fell into the teaching process,' Jessica said.
Emily said moving so far away was a daunting prospect initially and she stressed about it when the time came to say goodbye to her friends and family.
'But having Jess there experiencing and living this journey with me has made life so much easier—I have a little piece of home with me every day,' Emily said.
'I have someone who knows what it took to get here and who I could take all of these big steps with; to hold my hand when I’ve had a really bad day or to cheer me on when I’ve had a really great one,' Emily said.
'It was comforting knowing that when I moved, I wouldn’t have to go through that daunting phase of having to gradually build a support network because I brought mine with me.'
If you would like to have an adventure of your own,
submit your application now.